Ōpōtiki Ratepayer’s Association chairman Kevin Cannell is concerned that people are going to struggle with a big rates bill in November. Photo / Brianna Stewart
Ōpōtiki Ratepayer’s Association chairman Kevin Cannell is concerned that people are going to struggle with a big rates bill in November. Photo / Brianna Stewart
Ratepayers in Ōpōtiki potentially face a double-digit rates rise and an extra big bill in November, depending on their payment plan.
As Ōpōtiki District Council predicts an average rates increase of about 10.5%, it is also changing invoicing from quarterly to twice yearly.
The move has caused concern that some people in the Eastern Bay of Plenty community will struggle to pay.
The council announced through a statement in early August that it was shifting to twice-yearly payments for this year. This meant that ratepayers who were not on weekly, fortnightly or monthly payment plans would be faced with a double rates bill in November, as well as the proposed rates rise.
This is because of this year’s delayed long-term plan process caused by changes in central Government’s Three Waters legislation.
The council was not able to send out its usual quarterly invoice in July as rates have not been struck yet.
A notice delivered to letterboxes subsequent to that said the council planned to stick with the twice-yearly bills in future years rather than revert to quarterly invoices.
Ōpōtiki Ratepayers Association chairman Kevin Cannell is concerned that this will result in a rise in people struggling to pay double-sized rates bills.
“If people default on one quarter, it is probably easier to chase up. By the time it gets to the second quarter, and people have got their regional council rates to pay as well, it’s just going to be overwhelming for people, especially at that time of the year.”
He felt the council’s August statement should have made it clearer that the move to twice-yearly rates would be a permanent one.
“It said nothing about it becoming permanent. Even in the literature that they sent out, it was in the fine print at the bottom. It needs to be out in the public arena,” he said.
Ōpōtiki Ratepayer’s Association chairman Kevin Cannell is concerned that people are going to struggle with a big rates bill in November. Photo / Brianna Stewart
He was heartened by a meeting with the mayor and council chief executive on the matter recently, at which he was told several people had taken advantage of the option promoted by the council, to put a direct debit payment plan in place.
The council said since the end of June, 117 ratepayers had moved to direct debit payments, where the council takes the money owed from a nominated account.
Previously, 1234 of 5256 payments, or 23%, were made through direct debit. The increase brings payments through direct debit up to about a quarter.
The preferred method as of the end of June was direct credit, which is used by 68% of ratepayers and includes automatic payments.
The council has no way to know how many people have set up regular automatic payments since June. Its advice to those paying through this method was to increase the amount by around 4% and be prepared to make a top-up payment in November after rates have been struck.
However, the council said automatic payments did not have the same status under the council’s Rates Remission and Postponement Policy as a direct debit.
Under direct debit, it was the council’s responsibility to get the payments right in order to avoid overdue fees.
It also emphasised that ratepayers could still pay quarterly if that is what they preferred.
Although the initial reason for moving to twice-yearly payments was due to this year’s delay in striking rates, the reason for retaining them is to reduce administrative costs.
The savings on postage alone will be around $2.50 per rating unit, twice a year.
The council said yo-yoing from one installment plan to another year by year will create less confusion for ratepayers.
Cannell said he had already been in to the council to pay his rates, and encourages anyone else who is able to, to do likewise if they don’t want to be stuck with a big bill in November.
“Pay what you paid last quarter and add a bit on,” he said.
